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Final four teams built Hog tough
January 16, 2008
By Jonathan Comey
Cold, Hard Football Facts owner of hog futures
It comes as no great surprise that the NFL’s final four this season all have this one thing in common: excellent offensive lines.
All four teams placed in our Offensive Hog Index top 10: New England tied for first, Green Bay fourth, the Giants tied for sixth and the Chargers tied for 10th (after placing No. 1 in 2006).
Offensive line play is as important to success as anything in the NFL, and teams that have their act together tend to go far.
What might come as a surprise is how these four offensive lines were built: with low draft value, very few free agents and a lot of tender loving care in the organization that picked them.
So, judging by this year’s final four, what’s the best way to build an offensive line?
1. Quantity, not quality.
MTV had a show going for awhile called “Making the Band,” where they sifted through about 15-20 dudes that were of varying talents and whittled them down to the five that would work best as a group.
These four organizations have used that concept, avoiding blue-chip linemen and picking a lot of different guys with the hopes that a few would stick and find chemistry with each other.
Of the 20 starters on these teams, only one was picked in the first round – Logan Mankins, picked with the last pick of Round 1 in 2005. (Note: the move was widely panned as a reach by the draftniks, who haven’t had much to say after seeing Mankins make 1st team all-NFL this year).
Ten were picked in rounds 2 and 3, but seven were picked in the 6th-7th rounds, or not picked at all.
And none of them came into the league with big reps – three of the four left tackles were second round picks (Matt Light, NE, Marcus McNeill, SD and Chad Clifton, GB) and New York's David Diehl was a fifth rounder.
2. Interior linemen come cheap.
The final four teams did use a few first-day picks inside – guards Chris Snee of the Giants was a No. 2, Mankins was a No. 1, Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz were No. 2 and 3 in the Packers’ draft class of 2006.
But four starters inside were undrafted, including indispensable center Shaun O’Hara of New York and standout guard Kris Dielman of San Diego.
None of the starting tackles were undrafteds, although Green Bay’s Mark Tauscher has come a long way since being picked in the seventh round in 2000.
3. Keep your coaches in place.
New England’s offensive lines have long been coached by Dante Scarnecchia, who is regarded as the best in the business. Tom Brady has been sacked fewer than 30 times for four straight seasons.
In New York, Pat Flaherty has been the man since 2004 – when, not coincidentally, Tiki Barber began his amazing run of three straight 2,000-yards from scrimmage seasons. With Barber retired, Giants didn’t miss a beat with a quartet of backs this year, finishing 4th in yards per carry.
When Mike McCarthy was hired in Green Bay, he fired the offensive line coach and promoted Joe Philbin to the job, promoting James Campen to assistant as well. This year, he promoted Philbin to offensive coordinator and Campen to line coach, and the results have been a steady climb toward excellence.
And San Diego’s line has been coached by John “Jack” Henry since 2004; when LaDainian Tomlinson ran for his record-setting 29th touchdown that season, Henry also got a ride off the field on the shoulders of his lineman (after L.T., of course).
4. Stay healthy.
The Giants started the same unit for all 16 games. New England’s left side was intact for all 16 games, although the Patriots did have some health issues on the right side (Stephen Neal missed eight games and RT Nick Kaczur missed the finale). San Diego rotated right tackles for personnel reasons, and center Nick Hardwick missed four games, but were otherwise healthy. The Packers also did some rotating inside, but tackles Chad Clifton and Tauscher played all 16 games.
5. Don’t spend big money on free agents.
Of the 20 starters, only two came in from other organizations – San Diego LG Mike Goff (signed from Bengals) and Giants RT Kareem McKenzie (signed from Jets). Neither move broke the bank, and although both have been excellent starters, they didn't start a trend of building from without.
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If you’re curious about how the four groups of Offensive Hogs break down individually and as a unit, there are actually plenty of stats out there to evaluate offensive lines.
Check these numbers out:
Green Bay Packers
- LT Clifton allowed 3.5 sacks
- RT Tauscher allowed 6.5 sacks
- Interior line allowed 5.5 sacks up the middle
(note: sacks credited against specific linemen will not add up to team total)
- Ran left for 4.0 yards per carry (20th)
- Ran middle for 1.9 yards per carry (32nd)
- Ran right for 5.1 yards per carry (11th)
- Ranked 3rd in Negative Pass Plays
- Ranked 8th in overall 3rd-down conversions
- Ranked 29th in converting 3rd and short runs
- Ranked 24th in negative run percentage (runs stuffed behind line)
- Ranked 12th in overall yards per carry (4.12)
- Committed 20 penalties
New York Giants
- LT Diehl allowed 13.5 sacks
- RT McKenzie allowed 4 sacks
- Interior line allowed 3.5 sacks up the middle
- Ran left for 4.9 yards per carry (5th)
- Ran middle for 2.8 yards per carry (28th)
- Ran right for 5.0 yards per carry (13th)
- Ranked 15th in Negative Pass Plays
- Ranked 12th in overall 3rd-down conversions
- Ranked 2nd in converting 3rd and short runs
- Ranked 10th in negative run percentage
- Ranked 4th in overall yards per carry (4.58)
- Committed 14 penalties
New England Patriots
- LT Matt Light allowed 6.5 sacks
- RT Nick Kaczur allowed 6.5 sacks
- Interior line allowed 2.5 sacks up the middle
- Ran left for 5.0 yards per carry (3rd)
- Ran middle for 3.1 yards per carry (23rd)
- Ran right for 5.7 yards per carry (5th)
- Ranked 1st in Negative Pass Plays
- Ranked 2nd in overall 3rd-down conversions
- Ranked 18th in converting 3rd and short runs
- Ranked 8th in negative run percentage
- Ranked 14th in overall yards per carry (4.1)
- Committed 21 penalties
San Diego Chargers
- LT Marcus McNeill allowed 9.5 sacks
- RTs Jeromey Clary/Shane Olivea allowed 5 sacks
- Interior line allowed 1.5 sacks up the middle
- Ran left for 3.3 yards per carry (29th)
- Ran middle for 3.7 yards per carry (4th)
- Ran right for 5.7 yards per carry (5th)
- Ranked 13th in Negative Pass Plays
- Ranked 16th in overall 3rd-down conversions
- Ranked 22nd in converting 3rd and short runs
- Ranked 22nd in negative run percentage
- Ranked 8th in overall yards per carry (4.2)
- Committed 19 penalties
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